Shingle with sharply defined tabs separated by slots and method of making

ABSTRACT

A shingle is provided and its method of manufacture, in which granules are applied to an upper surface of a hardenable coating on a layer of shingle-making material, with granules of different pre-selected visual aesthetics provided in different tab areas, separated by mixtures of granules from adjacent tab areas forming intermediate areas, and in which the intermediate areas are removed to yield slots separating adjacent tabs, leaving visually sharp, precise starting and ending delineations for the tabs of a given aesthetic, that can be the same as or different than the aesthetic of an adjacent tab.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Shingles of the type having a butt portion and a tab portion, with slotsseparating tabs of the tab portion of the shingle, are known in the art.U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,212,843 and 6,467,235 represent examples of suchshingles and their method of manufacture.

It is also known to manufacture shingles, either of the single layertype or of the laminated type, comprising two or more layers of completeshingle material, wherein each layer of complete shingle materialincludes a base web of reinforcing material that is impregnated with andcoated with an adhesive material, generally asphalt, which hardens, andwith granules applied to an upper surface of the shingle material.

Generally, the shingles are made by having a base web, often offiberglass construction, as a reinforcing material, impregnated with thebitumen or other adhesive material, as part of a continuous process, andin which the granules are dropped onto the continuous sheet ofimpregnated and coated material, to adhere thereto, with the granulesbeing dropped from granule applicators. Often, there are a plurality ofgranule applicators, which apply granules of a certain preselectedaesthetic onto different portions of the shingle-forming layer passingtherebeneath. For example, the granule applicators may contain granulesof different colors, different shadings of the same color, differentblends of color or shading, etc.

It is desirable to have adjacent tabs separated by slots, wherein thetabs have some form of contrast or aesthetic from tab-to-tab. Thecontrast may be in the form of different shades of the same color,different colors from tab-to-tab, different blends of colors or shadingfrom tab-to-tab, or of other variations.

Often, the goal of such manners of shingle manufacture is to provideshingles that, once they are laid up on a roof, give the appearance ofindividual tiles, or individual slates, as may be desired, rather thanappearing as tabs of a manufactured shingle.

Because control of the dropping of granules from a given applicator maynot be absolutely or precisely perfect, where shingles from a givenhopper-type applicator may be intended to be dropped in a preplanned tabarea of a shingle-forming layer passing therebeneath, and whereingranules from a different hopper applicator may be intended to bedropped on an adjacent tab area, there is often an intermediate zone orarea, between adjacent tab areas, where there is a blend of granulesfrom one applicator with granules from another applicator.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention is directed to providing a shingle and a method ofmaking a shingle in which adjacent tabs can be sharply defined, in whichgranules of a given aesthetic are applied to one tab area and granulesof another aesthetic are applied to an adjacent tab area, and which anymixture of granules from both of those areas that are applied to anintermediate area between those two tab areas, are removed by removingthe entire intermediate area, to yield two distinct tabs.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide ashingle and a method of making the shingle, in which granules of morethan one aesthetic are applied to a shingle-forming layer, each in adifferent area, and wherein a mixture of granules of both aesthetics areapplied in an intermediate area, which intermediate area is then removedto yield adjacent shingle tabs that are sharply defined, each havinggranules only of its own predetermined aesthetic.

It is another object to accomplish the above objects, wherein theremoval takes place by cutting generally transverse slots between tabareas such that each remaining tab area yields visually sharp, precisestarting and ending delineations of its own aesthetic.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readilyapparent upon the reading of the following brief description of thedrawing figures, the detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiments,and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a layer of shingle-forming materialbeing continuously conveyed along a generally horizontal path, beneath aplurality of hopper type granule applicators which are dropping granulesonto predetermined tab areas of the coated web of shingle-formingmaterial.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the continuous coated web of shingle-formingmaterial, with granules of different aesthetics already applied thereto,in different areas, spaced by intervening transitional or intermediateareas, which intermediate areas contain mixtures or blends of granulesfrom each adjacent tab area.

FIG. 3 illustrates the continuous layer of shingle-forming material,with granules already applied thereon, passing under slot-formingcutting apparatus and shingle separation cutting apparatus.

FIG. 3A is a fragmentary illustration similar to that of FIG. 3, butwherein a rotary mechanism is illustrated for cutting the slots betweenadjacent tabs and cutting the shingle-forming material into individualshingles.

FIG. 4 is an illustration similar to that of FIG. 2, but after the slotshave been cut between adjacent tabs of the shingle, removing theintermediate areas that had contained mixtures or blends of granulesfrom the adjacent tab areas.

FIG. 5 is a top view of a completed shingle made in accordance with thisinvention.

FIG. 6 is a front edge view of a completed shingle in accordance withthis invention, having multi-layers, to yield a laminated shingle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings in detail, reference is first made to FIG. 1,wherein a continuous layer of shingle-forming material is illustrated bythe numeral 10, as comprising a base web of reinforcing material,generally of fiberglass construction, impregnated with and coated withan adhesive material, generally of the asphalt or other bitumen type, asa hardenable coating, to an upper and lower surface thereof. Such layerof shingle-forming material, up to this point in the manufacture, may beconstructed as disclosed in either of the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No.6,212,843 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,467,235, or by other techniques.

The shingle-forming material 10 is horizontally conveyed along aconveyor formed by a plurality of rollers 11, being rotated in theclockwise direction shown by the arrows 12, such that theshingle-forming material is moved from left to right as shown in FIG. 1,in the direction of the arrow 13, to pass beneath a plurality ofhopper-type granule applicators 14, 15 and 16.

It will be apparent that any number of granule applicators may be usedas may be desired, depending upon the aesthetic illustration desired inthe final shingle.

For purposes of this application, the granules being dispensed from eachof the applicators 14, 15 and/or 16 will be referred to as granules of agiven “aesthetic”. It will be understood that as used herein “aesthetic”can mean that the granules dispensed from the various applicators may begranules of a different color or appearance, or may be granules ofdifferent shades of the same color, or components of either of them.Similarly, they can be granules of different sizes or shapes, textures,or a given granule applicator may contain a blend of granules ofpredetermined colors and/or shadings, and that the other granuleapplicators may contain granules of a different blend of colors,shadings, sizes, etc. Granules of different materials and compositionsmay be used, such as, for example, including but not limited to, naturalrock, slag, ceramic coated rock or mineral particles, or granules ofvarious mineral content.

Thus, as used herein, the term “aesthetic”, will mean a given,predetermined array of granules that will yield a certain visualimpression, which will often be different than an array of granules thatyields a different visual impression from that of an adjacent tab area.Alternatively, some adjacent tab areas could have the same aesthetics,to give the same visual impression, if desired.

Accordingly, with reference to FIG. 2, it will be seen that the layer ofshingle-forming material is provided with an upper butt portion 17 and alower tab portion 18.

The butt portion 17 will generally be provided with granules that areadapted to be covered when shingles are laid-up on a roof, and suchgranules can be as are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,843 or U.S. Pat.No. 6,467,235, or of any other type, in that such are not the granulesto which the present invention is directed. The granules that areapplied from the applicators 14, 15 and 16 of FIG. 1, are granules thatwill produce “aesthetics” A, B, and C as shown in FIG. 2.

Because the deposit of granules from the applicators 14, 15 and 16 canbe stopped or started by various techniques, well known in the art, suchas openable doors (not shown), the aesthetic areas A, B, and C will notnecessarily always follow each other, in that various aesthetic areascan be controlled by conventional granule drop techniques, such that a Barea can follow a C area, an A area can follow B area, etc, as shown inFIG. 2, or any other variations of different aesthetic areas following aprevious aesthetic area. The arrangement of the variations of differentaesthetic areas can be patterned or have a random distribution.

In any event, between the various A, B and C aesthetic areas, it will beseen that there are intermediate areas in the tab portion 18, such as,as viewed from right-to-left as viewed in FIG. 2, the intermediate areaBA between areas A and B, the intermediate area CB between areas B andC, the intermediate area BC between areas C and B, the intermediate areaAB between areas B and A, the intermediate area BA between areas A andB, the intermediate area CB between areas B and C, and the intermediatearea BC between areas C and B, for example.

For ease of understanding, in the course of this application, the tabareas A, B and C will be considered “primary” areas, and the areas BA,CB, BC, AB, BA, CB and BC will be considered intermediate ortransitional areas.

It will also be understood that the intermediate or transitional areasare comprised, in each case, of some blend or mixture of granules fromeach of the primary areas on each side of the transitional area, andthat such occurs because of the limitations on precision with regard tothe dropping of granules; that is, that it is not always possible toprecisely stop the application of granules, or to precisely start theapplication of granules when they are being delivered via gravity dropfrom a hopper-type granule applicator, roll- or belt-type granuleapplicator, or any other type of applicator. Application may also beprovided with pneumatic assist, contact adhesion, or particle placementdevices.

With reference now to FIG. 3, it will be seen that the continuous sheetof shingle-forming material 10, after application of granules, continueson over rollers 11 or other types of conveying apparatus, to a slotforming device 20. The slot forming device 20 may be of any desiredtype, but could be of the type illustrated in FIG. 3, in which thedevice 20 is moved upwardly or downwardly, so that its slot-cuttingportion 21, when moved downwardly in the direction of the double headedarrow 22, can cut out the intermediate areas of the tab portion betweenprimary areas of the tab portion, to yield spaced-apart tabs 26,separated by slots 27. While FIG. 4 shows each of the tabs 26 to havesimilar parameters of shape, length, and width, with respect to oneanother, these parameters could be varied from tab to tab. Similarly,the width of slots 27 may vary from slot to slot. Thus, in analternative embodiment, the shingle-forming layer 10 can be made with atleast one of the parameters of tab shape, tab length, tab width and slotwidth varied as the sheet is conveyed through the manufacturing process.

The shingle-forming layer 10 is then delivered to a cutter mechanism 23,which also can be of the type that moves vertically upwardly anddownwardly in the direction of the double headed arrow 25, such that itslower edge 24 can cut through the shingle-forming material 10 whendesired, to separate the shingle-forming material 10 into separatediscrete shingles, each comprising a plurality of tabs, such as thefour-tab shingle of FIG. 5.

With reference now to FIG. 3A, it will be seen that the shingle-forminglayer 10 may have its slots and shingle cut-off formed therein by meansof a rotary member 30 having a slot cutter 31 carried thereby, whichcuts the slots 27 in the shingle-forming material 10 as the rotarycutter is turned in the direction of the arrow 31. Similarly, theshingle cut-off mechanism may, in lieu of that shown in FIG. 3, becomprised of a rotary member 32 having a cutting blade 33 thereon, whichcuts the shingle-forming material 10 into separate discrete shingles, asthe cutter mechanism 32 is rotated in the direction of the arrow 34.Other cutting or removal means known in the art may be employed to formthe slots or to cut the shingle-forming material into separate discreteshingles.

Referring now to FIG. 5, it will be seen that a representative shingleis shown, having a plurality of aesthetic areas that sharply define thetabs 26, separated by slots 27, with each slot being as wide in thelongitudinal direction from left-to-right as shown, as at least thewidth of the entire intermediate area between adjacent primary areas asshown in FIG. 2, such that in each case the entire intermediate area isremoved, leaving visually sharp, precise starting and endingdelineations at each longitudinal end of each of the primary areas, withgranules of a given aesthetic in each primary area being spaced apart onlongitudinally opposite sides of a given slot.

With reference now to FIG. 6, it will be seen that the completed shingleof FIG. 5, is illustrated in lower or front edge view, and that thecompleted shingle 40 of FIG. 5 has been provided with either a halfheight or full height, as may be desired, separate complete layer ofshingle material 41, adhesively secured thereto along surface 42, toyield a laminated multi-layer shingle. While FIG. 6 shows a shinglewhere the separate complete layer of shingle material 41 was appliedprior to forming of slots 27, the layer 41 could also be applied afterthe slots 27 have been formed in the shingle-forming material 10,providing the completed shingle 40 having slots formed in one, but notall, layers of a laminated multi-layer shingle. Alternatively, a singlelayer shingle could be provided by omitting layer 41 from the shingleconstruction.

While the embodiments discussed above have three aesthetic areas, A, B,and C, it will be understood that the invention could be applied to aroofing material having a plurality of aesthetic areas. For example,two, three, or four, or more different aesthetic areas may be present ona shingle of the invention.

It will be apparent from the forgoing that various modifications may bemade in the details of construction, the manner of manufacture, and thesequence of steps in connection with the manufacture, to yield variousaesthetic presentations for a completed shingle, as is embraced withinthe appended claims.

1. A method of making a shingle having a butt portion and a tab portionwith tabs of desired aesthetic in the tab portion being spaced apart byslots, and with adjacent tabs being sharply defined, comprising thesteps of: (a) providing a base web of reinforcing material impregnatedwith and coated with an adhesive material as a hardenable coating, to anupper surface and a lower surface thereof; (b) conveying the impregnatedreinforcing material in a longitudinal direction; (c) applying granulesof a first aesthetic onto the hardenable coating on the upper surface infirst primary areas, each of a first width, in the tab portion of thecontinuous strip of shingle material, to cover said first primary areas;(d) applying granules of a second aesthetic onto the hardenable coatingof the upper surface in second primary areas, each of a second width, inthe tab portion of the continuous strip of shingle material, to coversaid second primary areas; and (e) applying granules of a mixture ofthose applied to adjacent primary areas, onto the hardenable coating inintermediate areas between said adjacent primary areas, eachintermediate area being of an intermediate width; and (f) cuttinggenerally transverse slots of a predetermined size in said tab portionso that each said slot is at least as wide in the longitudinal directionas the width of the entire intermediate area in which it is located, toremove said intermediate areas, leaving visually sharp, precise startingand ending delineations at each longitudinal end of each of said primaryareas, with granules of a given aesthetic in each primary area beingspaced apart on longitudinally opposite sides of a said slot.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, including the step of: (g) applying granules of athird aesthetic onto the hardenable coating of the upper surface inthird primary areas, each of a third width, in the tab portion of thecontinuous strip of shingle material, to cover said third primary areas.3. A method of making a shingle having a butt portion and a tab portionwith tabs of desired shading in the tab portion being spaced apart byslots, and with adjacent tabs being sharply defined, comprising thesteps of: (a) providing a base web of reinforcing material impregnatedwith and coated with an adhesive material as a hardenable coating, to anupper surface and a lower surface thereof; (b) conveying the impregnatedreinforcing material in a longitudinal direction; (c) applying granulesof a first aesthetic onto the hardenable coating on the upper surface infirst primary areas, each of a first width, in the tab portion of thecontinuous strip of shingle material, to cover said first primary areas;(d) applying granules of a second aesthetic onto the hardenable coatingof the upper surface in second primary areas, each of a second width, inthe tab portion of the continuous strip of shingle material, to coversaid second primary areas; and (e) applying granules of a mixture ofthose applied to adjacent primary areas, onto the hardenable coating inintermediate areas between said adjacent primary areas, eachintermediate area being of an intermediate width; and (f) removing saidintermediate areas.
 4. The method of claim 3, including the step of: (g)applying granules of a third aesthetic onto the hardenable coating ofthe upper surface in third primary areas, each of a third width, in thetab portion of the continuous strip of shingle material, to cover saidthird primary areas.
 5. A method of making a shingle having a buttportion and a tab portion with tabs of desired shading in the tabportion being spaced apart by slots, and with adjacent tabs beingsharply defined, comprising the steps of: (a) providing a base web ofreinforcing material impregnated with and coated with an adhesivematerial as a hardenable coating, to an upper surface and a lowersurface thereof; (b) conveying the impregnated reinforcing material in alongitudinal direction; (c) applying granules of a first aesthetic ontothe hardenable coating on the upper surface in first primary areas, eachof a first width, in the tab portion of the continuous strip of shinglematerial, to cover said first primary areas; (d) applying granules of asecond aesthetic onto the hardenable coating of the upper surface insecond primary areas, each of a second width, in the tab portion of thecontinuous strip of shingle material, to cover said second primaryareas; and (e) applying granules of a mixture of those applied toadjacent primary areas onto the hardenable coating in intermediate areasbetween said adjacent primary areas; and (f) removing said intermediateareas.
 6. The method of claim 5, including the step of: (g) applyinggranules of a third aesthetic onto the hardenable coating of the uppersurface in third primary areas, each of a third width, in the tabportion of the continuous strip of shingle material, to cover said thirdprimary areas.
 7. The method of any one of claims 1, 3 or 5, includingthe step of cutting the impregnated web with granules into separateshingles of predetermined lengths.
 8. The method of claim 7, includingthe step of applying a second layer of impregnated reinforcing materialwith granules thereon to the base web of impregnated reinforcingmaterial with granules thereon, to make a laminated shingle.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the second layer of impregnated reinforcingmaterial with granules thereon is applied after said intermediate areasare removed.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the second layer ofimpregnated reinforcing material with granules thereon is applied beforesaid intermediate areas are removed.
 11. The method of claim 7, whereinsaid tabs of desired aesthetic have a varied parameter from one tab toanother, said varied parameter being selected from the group of tabshape, tab length, tab width and slot width.
 12. A shingle madeaccording to the method of claim
 7. 13. A shingle made according to themethod of claim 8.